Thread by @aekbarnes

Here are a few thoughts about what it’s like as a parent of young kids to live in Northern California where climate change is making massive wildfires a sadly predictable, annual occurrence. #CaliforniaFires #climatechange #thread

Woke up this morning to my 5 yo son asking us about the air. Yesterday his soccer was cancelled and we didn’t let him go to the park due to poor air quality (AQ). If you have small kids you can imagine the energy that's pent up even from 1 day of being stuck inside.

Like I said my son is five and literally every year of his life that he remembers, there have been days or weeks where we’ve had to reorganize our lives to deal with wildfire smoke. He has a whole vocabulary & understanding about fires and AQ I definitely didn't have at that age.

As we’re getting ready for school my phone is buzzing with messages from his school and aftercare. Recess will be all indoors today. These public school teachers - underpaid, overworked saints - now have to deal with kids who haven't been able to burn energy outside in days.

Not to mention that many of these kids are aware of what’s going on with the fires and many of them - my son included - are anxious about it. Last year my son was terrified the fires would reach us. This year he's asking...

What will happen to the people who live where the fires are? Will they be okay? Will their houses burn down? Will they die? I am angry and sad about having to have these conversations with a five year old.

After checking in on school arrangements, I message my my cousin to check in; they evacuated yesterday and have two small kids under the age of five. They are fortunate to be staying with friends in SF. Not everyone has a place to stay and evacuation centers are filling up.

I get an alert on my phone about another fire in Southern California and text my other aunt and uncle who live down there. My uncle has a degenerative lung disease and is at serious risk from air pollution during fires. This is all before I've had breakfast.

My uncle is on oxygen due to his condition, so in addition to the pollution risk, the power outages have created a further challenge for his breathing equipment. Luckily he and my aunt are out of the state at the moment but we're not sure what they'll do when they back.

Lots of people in situations like my uncle's are buying diesel generators if they can afford them. The irony is that this means more greenhouse gases and other pollutants being spewed into the air, further contributing to climate change, which in turn is driving the wildfires.

It also exacerbates energy inequality and environmental injustice, since poor people who can’t afford to buy diesel generators are being left in pretty terrible circumstances. Someone with the same condition as my uncle but without power backup could literally die.

Speaking of vicious cycles, I’m considering driving my son to school today to avoid exposure to bad air. Driving also emits carbon pollution so I’d be contributing to the problem, and we literally live around the corner from his school. We decide to stick it out and walk.

I open the front door; it smells like barbecue but with a hint of something chemical. My son comes out and notes the smell, grabs his bike as I strap our 1-year-old into her stroller. I don't have childcare so don’t have any choice but to bring her along and expose her as well.

I look in the garage for the N95 masks I bought last year, but it looks like we are out. I make a mental note to buy the reusable ones this time, since it seems we will be needing them on an annual basis. Plus the adult ones don't fit kids, so I’ll also have to buy child size.

I try to walk to school slowly so I’m not laboring in my breathing. But as usual my son has torn off down the street on his bike like a bat out of hell. We meet up with friends and strategize about the air, where to get the best info on AQI, etc.

When we get to the corner with the crossing guard, I overhear another parent asking her if she has a mask to wear since she’s working outside. She shakes her head. I make a mental note to add one for her to our order.

As we approach school I can see parents and kids arriving with masks. Playground time before school is cancelled so we make our way indoors. I drop my son at class, then head to the office to coordinate with the office manager about teach appreciation day. She's overwhelmed...

...a steady stream of parents and kids dropping off inhalers, masks, doctor's notes, medication instructions, or just asking questions and expressing concern. One mom says her daughter has asthma; does the school have any extra masks to borrow?

The office manager shakes her head, no. My son goes to a Title 1 public school which means many of the students are low income. I wonder how many kids’ parents can’t afford masks or indoor air filters like we have at home.

I head home and my daughter starts to sneeze and cough. I feel bad for taking her outside. I am distracted - compulsively checking my phone for updates from the news and family and friends. We get home and stay in the house for the rest of the day.

I’m obviously lucky. I’m alive & my family is safe and we aren’t directly threatened by the fire. Our home isn’t in danger. I haven’t lost anyone close to me in a wildfire (yet). I have the means to buy air purifiers & masks. We haven't lost power (yet). It could be a lot worse.

And yet. These fires are the new reality for those of us living here in California, with the impacts of climate change already upon us. I share these mundane details so others can have a window into what it's like living in a changed climate.

If you want or need help, here are a few ideas.
1) Donate to United Way's Kincaid Fire Emergency & Relief Recovery Fund - bit.ly/2qSJxF1, or Sonoma County Resilience Fund - bit.ly/2orsSHR
2) Sonoma First 5 has good kid coping resources - bit.ly/2qNtl7S

3) Vote for politicians who believe in climate change and support policies that promote healthy forests (or become one!). See League of Conservation Voters - lcv.org Environmental Voter Project - environmentalvoter.org Run for Something -runforsomething.net